The present invention relates to apparatus and method for measuring and scoring of materials, more particularly to scoring aluminum and vinyl siding.
A myriad of tools are available for the purpose of measuring and scoring different materials. The variety of designs results from the unique properties or requirements of the material to be scored.
Conventional siding materials used to clad the exterior walls of residential and commercial buildings are usually made of extruded aluminum or vinyl and are available in a number of standard profiles. Typically, the profiles mimic that of clapboard siding. Rather than siding by overlapping board by board, as clapboard is installed, the siding is extruded in strips or panels that mimic one or more pieces of board on one strip. The width of the xe2x80x9cboardsxe2x80x9d on the extruded siding, their shape and the way in which they appear to overlap dictates the profile of the siding. There are a number of different profiles available, some of which are standard double 4xe2x80x3, standard double 5xe2x80x3 or 4.5xe2x80x3 and Dutch lap or cove.
The strips are installed on the supporting structure in an interlocking manner, starting at the bottom of the wall, by nailing across the length of a nailing strip at the top of the extruded strip, through holes formed in the nailing strip. Each upper adjacent strip is interlocked to the one below, usually by interlocking a U-shaped catch at the bottom of the upper strip with a flange below the nailing strip of the lower piece of siding. In this manner the nailing strip is hidden from view, creating a continuous clapboard appearance.
As structural walls vary in height and openings may be placed at unique positions in the walls, the uppermost strip will have to be cut longitudinally to fit below the eave of the roof, and other strips cut above door openings and above and below window openings. While vertical cuts are easily made into the siding strips using metal snips, longitudinal cuts present greater challenges.
Longitudinal cuts in aluminum siding strips are generally made by first measuring and marking the strip with a pencil and then scoring the siding with a utility knife. Aluminum siding can then be bent back and forth along the score line until it snaps. Most utility knives have relatively thin blades, often designed to be snapped off at regular intervals in order to keep the blade sharp. These blades are flimsey, which makes it difficult to apply enough pressure to the knife to score without wandering over the surface of the siding material. This is especially true if the siding is to be cut on the sloping portion of the siding profile. This requires skill and steadiness of hand when using an unsupported utility knife.
A prior art scoring tool that utilizes a plastic plate specific for the profile of siding is known. It is essential to have a different plate for each profile of siding used as the plate utilizes the unique features of the siding profile, such as the horizontal shoulders, as a support and guide. A thumb screw with a scoring tip is screwed into one of a plurality of holes bored through the plate, to correspond with the desired measurement of the score line on the siding. Pressure is applied to the plate and the thumbscrew as it is moved along the surface of the siding, guided by the bottom edge of the siding and the horizontal shoulders of the profile. It is essential that the scoring tip be aligned in the direction of the score at all times or it will wander and not cut.
It is also essential that pressure be applied downward and laterally to keep the plate aligned along the edge and shoulder, as the scoring tool does not interlock with the siding in any way. Further, any small pieces of debris on the surface of the siding will be dragged below the plate and result in scratching, which is especially visible on aluminum siding.
Alternatively, both aluminum and vinyl siding can be cut along the marked line using tin snips, aviation snips or a circular saw, either hand held or mounted. Hand held metal snips are difficult to use when making longitudinal cuts, especially the full length of the siding strip, as the installer has little room for his hand between the cut pieces and the cut material is stiff. Offset handles have improved this situation, however, cutting the amount of siding required to top all four walls of a structure as well as openings for windows and doors requires very strong hands.
The use of a circular saw requires a more complex set-up on the job-site as the siding strip must be supported by a solid structure in order to run it the full length of the strip along the scribed line. If the saw is mounted, the installer must be able to support and pass the siding strip through the saw blade.
Clearly there is a need for a simple reliable scoring tool that requires little job-site setup, is easily used by an installer, requires little effort to maintain alignment and will not damage the surface of the siding during use. Ideally a single tool would be used for all available siding profiles
A tool for accurately scoring siding material is provided comprising a measuring rail, to which a scoring blade is pivotally mounted at its distal end, which is extensible from a hounding mounted on a guide for engaging the end of the U-shaped catch at the bottom edge of a siding strip. The scoring tool is slidable along the edge of the siding material once it is interlocked with the U-shaped catch at the bottom edge of the material. The measuring rail housing is mounted on the guide so as to create a unique alignment block which spaces the measuring rail and scoring knife above the surface of the siding material, preventing damage to the surface of the siding material. Means are provided for locking the measuring rail at an extended position.
Preferably, the housing is mounted pivotally to the guide to create extra space for engaging siding with different profile heights and allow the scoring knife blade to be pivoted to contact the siding surface at any position on the siding profile. The scoring tool guide can be interlocked with the siding material from either end of the U-shaped channel in the guide, the channel sized to allow limited rotation of the U-shaped catch at the edge of the siding material.
Preferably the scoring knife comprises a blade portion and a handle portion, the blade being carbide tipped, such as used for cutting plastic laminate and can be pivotably and reversibly mounted on the end of the measuring rail for use by either right handed or left handed installers.
A method of scoring siding material at a desired measurement is described comprising the steps of
providing a scoring tool comprising a measuring rail to which a scoring blade is pivotally mounted and which is extensible from a guide which engages the end of a U-shaped catch at the bottom edge of siding material and is slidable thereon, the guide spacing the measuring rail above the surface of the siding material;
extending the measuring rail to the desired measurement;
interlocking the guide with the U-shaped catch at the bottom edge of the siding material
rotating the scoring knife to position the scoring blade in contact with the siding material; and
drawing the scoring tool along the siding material while applying pressure to the scoring knife.
Thus, a single scoring tool is provided that can be used on any profile of siding material as the scoring tool interlocks and co-operates solely with the edge of the siding material. The surface of the siding material is protected from damage by the tool as the measuring rail is spaced above the surface of the material and the scoring knife is pivotable to a non-actuated position wherein the blade is away from the material surface.